Non-splash pan



Oct. 4, 1955 J. HELLEBUSCH NON- SPLASH PAN Filed May 13, 1953 INVENTOR iw fl 1Z2 ZZefiusch A TORNEY United States Patent 2,719,655 NON-SPLASH PAN Jack Hellebusch, Sedalia, Mo.

Application May 13, 1953, Serial No. 354,771

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-572) This invention relates to a novel pan which is substantially splash-proof and more particularly to a pan intended to be used primarily as a drain pan particularly to catch oil, gasoline, antifreeze solutions and other liquids drained from motor vehicles. Such pans must necessarily be relatively shallow to be conveniently positioned beneath any part of a vehicle and when filled must be pulled or drawn from beneath the vehicle. During this movement it frequently occurs that the sudden surging liquid overflows the trailing end of the pan spilling the liquid on the surface beneath the vehicle.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a pan whereby the overflow of the liquid therefrom will be prevented due to the provision of a novel splash guard and associated liquid trap.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view, partly in horizontal section illustrating a preferred form of the pan;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 44 of Figure 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the novel pan in its entirety is designated generally 5 and includes a substantially fiat bottom 6, side walls 7 and end walls 8. Said side walls 7 and end walls 8 may be formed integral with or suitably secured to the side edges and ends, respectively, of the bottom 6.

The pan 5 also includes inner side walls 9 and inner end walls which are suitably secured at their bottom edges, as indicated at 11, to the bottom 6 and which are suitably joined or merged at the ends thereof. Accordingly, the walls 7 and 8 constitute outer side walls and end walls and the walls 9 and 10 in conjunction with cured together and sealed to form miter-like flanged corners l6.

One corner of the outer walls 7 and 8 and of the flanges 14 and 15 is provided with an outwardly extending pouring spout 17 which opens into the trap chamber 13 and which has a top wall 18 which extends inwardly to beyond the inner edges of the flanges 14 and 15 at said corner to provide a liquid retaining lip 19.

The outer end walls 8 are provided on their outer sides with handles 20. A plurality of flat foot members 21 are secured to the underside of the bottom 6 for supporting said bottom in a slightly elevated position relatively to a supporting surface and to prevent thebottom from being subjected to wear when sliding the pan 5 along a supporting surface to a position beneath a vehicle or therefrom.

The pan 5 may be made in various sizes.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that when the pan 5 is positioned beneath a vehicle and substantially filled with a liquid drained therefrom, that the liquid, not shown, will be contained in the inner chamber 12. In withdrawing the pan 5 from beneath the vehicle the portion of the bottom surrounded thereby consti- 5 tute the main chamber 12 of the pan 5 whereas the space between the inner walls 9 and 10 and the outer walls 7 and 8 define a trap chamber 13 which surrounds the main chamber 12. As best illustrated in Figure 3, the upper edge of the inner walls 9 and 10 terminates slightly below either handle 20 may be grasped and the liquid in the chamber 12 will surge in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the pan. However, the liquid will be prevented from splashing out of the pan since in surging over one of the inner end walls 10 it will strike the end flange 15 disposed thereabove which will function as a splash guard for deflecting the liquid downwardly into the end portion of the chamber 13 disposed therebeneath. The liquid entering the chamber 13 will spread therethrough to assume a uniform level. The chamber 13 is made of a sufiicient width and capacity to readily accommodate a maximum amount of liquid which would splash or surge from the inner chamber 12 in removing the pan 5 from beneath a vehicle. The pan 5 may then be tilted to elevate the corner thereof located opposite the spout 17 so that the liquid in the chambers 12 and 13 can be poured through the spout 17 for emptying the pan 5.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pan of the character described comprising a substantially flat bottom and upstanding side walls and end walls, inner side walls and end walls fixed to and rising from said bottom and spacedinwardly from said first mentioned outer side walls and end walls, said inner side walls and end walls combining with a part of the bottom to form a main liquid chamber and said inner side walls and end walls combining with the outer side walls and end walls and a part of the bottom to define a trap chamber surrounding said main chamber and completely separated therefrom, beneath the open top of the main chamber, by file inner side walls and end Walls, and flanges extending upwardly and inwardly from the upper edges of the outer side walls and end walls and having inner edges overlying and disposed above the level of the upper edges of the inner side walls and end walls and forming splash guards for deflecting a liquid splashing over the inner side walls and end walls downwardly into the trap chamber, said pan being of a length and width substantially greater than the depth thereof.

2. A pan as in claim 1, and a spout extending ou'twardly from a corner of the pan formed by an outer side wall, an outer end wall andby contiguous ends of two of said flanges, said spout communicating with the trap chamber and having a top wall extending inwardly beyond inner edges of the adjacent portions of the last mentioned flanges and overlying a corner of said main 5 liquid chamber and forming a liquid retaining lip.

3. A pan as in claim 1, the upper edges of the inner side walls and end walls being disposed beneath the level of the upper edges of the outer side walls and, end walls, and the inner edges of said flanges being disposed in- 10 wardly with respect to the inner side walls and end walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Regnell Feb. 25, 1908 Kovachevich Oct. 15, 1918 Perritt Aug. 26, 1924 Sharstad June 13, 1933 Throndsen Aug. 22, 1933 Weiner et a1. Apr. 11, 1950 

